CRITICAL THINKING, A TOOL FOR POSITIVE THINKING

Critical Thinking, a tool for life

As we are approaching the end of our studies, while others are still continuing with their studies, here are some few tips on how we can create ability of critical thinking as a tool for managing life.

When you ask people including scolers to define "critical thinking, they often refer to puzzle or brainteaser. And although developing critical thinking skills will help people and students to solve number of issues, critical thinking skills will also help students as they face crucial decisions in education and in life. Students, and all of us, are bombarded with ideas and with people trying to persuade us to accept the ideas they are promoting.

 You only have to turn on a television talk show to see this in action. At least when watching a talk show, the viewer is given some background information about the speaker's credentials or lack of credentials and is usually aware of the personal bias that the speaker brings to the topic. The advent of the computer information age has presented us with a new challenge: a wealth of information distributed with few restrictions and often limited information about the author of the material. With the increasing use of web-based technology to gather and interpret information, knowing the critical thinking skills is even more important.

In this article you will be aware of  how to practice critical thinking and explored methods for integrating this into our daily life. In addition, this article will offer suggestions for both using technology as a tool for teaching critical thinking and ways to think critically about the technology,  resources, academic issues, professional issues and other personal lives.

If you can’t think critically, you can’t think creatively. And if you can’t think creatively, you can’t produce compelling content and copy.

To think creatively, we need to step outside the framework of what we see or hear. We have to observe, ask questions and analyze so that we can open up new thoughts and ideas on old matters or commonly-accepted arguments.

What is critical thinking? There are a variety of answers to that question, but most experts agree that it includes the ability for a person to use his/her intelligence, knowledge and skills to question and carefully explore situations to arrive at thoughtful conclusions based on evidence and reason. A critical thinker is able to get past biases and view situations from different perspectives to ultimately improve his/her understanding of the world. It  is generally means analyzing statements and determining their validity in support of a conclusion.

 In those two sentences lie a lifetime of work for an individual, work that begins with a formal education in critical thinking skills. It cannot be taught as an absolute. There are no formulas to memorize or tests to take. Experts believe that critical thinking is about helping individual discover the answers. That said, there are some basic tools that you can use to begin to understand critical thinking.

John Chaffee in The Thinker's Guide to College Success defines thinking critically as "carefully examining our thinking (and the thinking of others) in order to clarify and improve our understanding." He suggests providing students with practice and guidance in the five activities listed below:

Thinking Actively by using our intelligence, knowledge, and skills to question, explore, and deal effectively with ourselves, others, and life's situations.

Carefully Exploring Situations by askin and trying to answer--relevant questions.

Thinking for Ourselves by carefully examining various ideas and arriving at our own thoughtful conclusions.

Viewing Situations from Different Perspectives to develop an in-depth, comprehensive understanding.

Supporting Diverse Perspectives with Reason and Evidence to arrive at thoughtful, well-substantiated conclusions.

Here’s a great example of critical thinking that led to creative exploration:

Some fool once said, “The earth is round!” People shot down that conclusion without even looking at the supporting premises. “Of course it isn’t,” they shouted back. “That makes no sense!” Others tried to refute the claims. “The Earth can’t be round,” they put forth. “The ground is flat. See?”

But the believer pointed out that there was a slight curve to the horizon. The world wasn’t flat. He set aside his biases and opened his mind to analyzing what he’d been told all his life. Why should he believe it? What made it true? What made it false?

He asked questions and demanded proof. He examined the arguments of authorities who made sweeping statements and claims that didn’t hold water. This round-world believer didn’t just refute what others said. He brought up premises to support his own ideas.

He was thinking creatively, and then he took world-changing action after critically evaluating his innovative idea.

Critical thinking and creative thinking go hand in hand. Creative thinking means generating ideas and processes; critical thinking evaluates those thoughts, allowing for rational decision.

So how do you think critically to think more creatively? Here are a few quick tips:

The World Wide Web provides a wealth of materials and is a wonderful tool for understanding critical thinking. There are number of suggestions for a person to  understand critical thinking with technology.

 The increasing power of technology has created a world where information changes quickly, and new ideas can be distributed and adapted almost instantaneously. Today it is important that a pearson learn critical thinking skills, so he or she can be both the inventors and the critics of the new information. Edward de Bono in de Bono's Thinking Course writes, "Knowledge is not enough. The creative, constructive, design and operating aspects of thinking are just as important as knowledge" .

Once we acknowledge that critical thinking is an important skill, the question becomes can we practice and use it? The answer is a resounding "yes." The latest research demonstrates that thinking can be practices and furthermore that it must be practiced evaluating ideas. Critical thinking is not a natural byproduct of taking college courses, even courses whose subject matter necessitate critical thinking for success. In Developing Critical Thinkers, Stephen Brookfield emphasizes that "a willingness to risk experimentation in one's teaching is an important aspect of modeling change and promoting critical openness in learners"

What are the benefits of ctitical thinking?

Knowing how to think critically is incredibly rewarding because is the opportunity  to understand and take charge of your life. Develop critical thinking skills will have an impact on your performance. As student you will approach the material in a more thoughtful and effective manner, will ask more and better questions and will participate in the learning process. Students will also develop the skills necessary to evaluate the resources that they consult for research purposes.

The benefits to students are innumerable. Developing critically thinking can change a student's life. Students will develop higher order thinking abilities necessary for academic and job success. But more importantly, students will expand the perspectives from which they view the world. Critical thinking skills will help an individual navigate the important decisions in learning and in life.

How to do it? To start let us start in the next semister. At first try to understand and value critical thinking. Visit web sites about critical thinking and type in "critical thinking" in the key word search or further define their search given your perimeters by adding "education," "employment" or others. There is a multitude of web sites and the vastness of information can be overwhelming, but it can also assist you to see what an important role critical thinking plays in life

Here is a suggested web site for easy learning.  

 www.sjsu.edu:80/depts/itl/index.html. This web site, designed and maintained by San Jose State University, is called " Mission Critical." It is an interactive instructional site designed to promote and teach critical thinking. It has great information and fun interactive quizzes. Some of the topics covered include arguments, common fallacies and applied critical thinking. Note: like many educational sites, "Mission Critical" asks for your feedback. This can serve as an opportunity for real-life application. Student reports can be prepared for the author of the site and used to help improve the site for future students.

www.ithaca.edu/library/training/hott.html. (This site also provides a presentation mode. If you have Internet access, you can peruse this material and  create evaluation checklist by modifying the one shown here. The information is presented in a colorful and interactive format and includes a sample exercise comparing two web sites that supply statistical information about AIDS.)

Developing critical thinking skills will assist students to make better decisions about their education and their lives

Learn more about critical thinking:
www.criticalthinking.org. This web site, The Center for Critical Thinking, is sponsored by many educational non-profit organizations including the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. The site provides research and assignment for use by educators from primary to university level.

www.thinkersway.com. This is John Chaffee's web site and provides an interactive quiz, "How Effective a Critical Thinker Am I?" It also has a wonderful section on problem solving as well as other activities.

www.philosophy.unimelb.edu.au/reason/critical/. This site has an extensive directory of quality on-line resources.

In order to understand better, here are some few tips,

a)Little Details Matter

Pay attention to words like ‘may’, ‘can’, and ‘will’. There’s a huge difference between something that will [insert marvelous benefit here] and something that might do the same. Never accept anything at face value.

b) Question the Authorities

If a piece of content quotes an expert to help support the argument or conclusion, ask questions. What qualifies the individual to give advice? What credentials does the person have to make claims? Why is he or she an authority on the subject?

c) Sweeping Away Statements

Over-generalization usually discredits an argument’s validity from the get-go. Knock down sentences that use words like ‘all’ and ‘everyone’. Not all people do, and not everyone knows. More careful wording such as ‘most’ and ‘some’ pass muster more easily.

d) Scarecrows and Straw Men

Watch out for fallacies. Fallacies are the tricky smoke and mirrors that divert attention from true critical thinking. There are a ton of fallacies, all built to deflect, detract, divert and discredit arguments without really doing so.

e) Let Down Your Guard

One of the biggest obstacles to creative thinking is bias, also the enemy of critical thinking. Your values, emotions, desires and experiences influence your beliefs and your ability to have an open mind. Set them aside and take the time to ponder information you receive wholeheartedly.

A last note: Be prepared to accept that someone’s arguments are true. Debating validity can be fun; it doesn’t always mean that you’re right. The guy with the ship and the crazy ideas about a round earth went the extra mile (literally) to test his theories. He sought proof for his own ideas and was prepared to face failure (so we assume).

But the explorer had thought long and hard about a creative idea. He wasn’t acting on a whim. He’d applied plenty of critical thinking before sailing out to discover that yes, indeed, the Earth truly is round.

Wish you all the best! And have a peaceful holiday.... remember and practise “CRITICAL THINKING” FOR LIFE